The Aftermath
by DoodeSeriously
Summary: Damon would never admit this, but he cares and he would die for those he loves. I don't understand why I never saw that before. Maybe I was too wrapped up in my own feelings, but I see it now. Prompt by LokYa; Elena nursing Damon back to health. Pre-2x22


**A/N: This based on a prompt made by LokYa; Elena nursing Damon back to health. Starts right after 2x22.**

**You have been patient beyond belief with me. This is your reward.  
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><p><strong>THE AFTERMATH<br>**

_**Elena's POV Day Zero**_

The silence in the room is truly deafening. Damon is looking over at me; sweat still beading down his face. He's looking at me as if I know the answer, but I don't.

Katherine has just chucked me the vial containing Damon's cure and disappeared. My head's still reeling from the shock of Katherine walking in on us while we were… well, what really? I didn't do anything wrong. I was saying goodbye to a dying friend; I was saying goodbye to Damon. The last thing she'd said is like an echo in the room; _it's ok to love them both, I did_.

What does that even mean? And why is she telling me?

Right now I'm focusing on Damon. He's still really sick. I've never seen anyone so pale. His features relaxed; gone is the sarcasm and the ever prominent scowl. The vulnerability I see etched on his face makes him beautiful to me, for the first time. And it scares the crap out of me.

He reaches for my hand and I take it. His eyes are wide open and they hit me like a tornado, sweeping the remnants of me with them high in the air. I'm trying to breathe but I can't.

"Stefan", he whispers. "Where is he? What did she mean?" Damon's eyes are searching mine. "Did I do this? Is this my fault?"

I have nothing to say to him. It's not his fault, but Stefan _is_ gone because of him. His eyes flutters shut and the lines on his face softens. He's asleep.

I stare at his finely sculpted face for a moment before I let myself fall. I sob out loud and cover my mouth, before I wake him up. I sneak out of the room and lean against the wall. Images of Stefan flash before my eyes as I slide down the dark wall panels, my shaking legs giving out beneath me. What Katherine said, can't be true; has Stefan has given his freedom up for Damon?

I sit in complete silence until my heartbeat returns to normal and my hands stop shaking. I search for my cell wedged in the pockets on the front of my jeans and scroll down the list of recently called numbers. I'm undecided until Alaric's name gets my attention. He would know what to do. Right now my mind is numb and I need to get back to Damon. If he wakes up and I'm gone…

_**Damon's POV Day Two**_

Worst. Hang over. Ever.

I try to sit up, but it's like I've got this iron belt wedged around me, keeping me down. I blink a few times trying to focus on something, but the light is blinding and I reach out with my hand to get away from the burning sensation behind my lids.

I growl out of frustration and I feel something silky and cool against my skin, keeping my hand away from my face.

"What the…" I say, but it's more like a hiss and I start coughing.

Through narrowed eyes I see a shadow in front of me, and I see Elena staring down at me with huge doe eyes and a sad smile.

"Could you get rid of the lights, they're killing my eyes." I whisper and lay back against the pillow.

I'm not as bad as I was before the blood Katherine gave me, but trust me when I say, I'm not feeling top notch either.

Elena turns away and dims the light and I can finally open my eyes.

"How are you feeling?" she asks softly and my insides squeeze tight. With every muscle in my body screaming in protest, I sit up and grab her arms.

"Where's Stefan?"

Tears start pooling in her eyes and I regret asking. All I can do is shake my head as my hand flutters near her face, not knowing what to do to make it all better. She looks down, avoiding my eyes and tucks some of her hair behind her ear, before drawing a deep shaky breath.

"Klaus took him. We don't know where, but Alaric is trying to find out. Elijah is gone too, so we think he must have gone with them." She looks up at me and I swear if I could go back in time I would, because seeing Elena like this, it kills me. "He's still alive, he sent me a text two days ago, saying not to worry." Her voice cracks and my heart feel like it's ripped from my chest. I lean back against the pillows in defeat.

Then I realize what she just said.

"Two days ago? I'm confused. Is that how long I've been here?"

Elena looks up at me and smiles through her tears.

"Yea. We thought Klaus's blood would get your strength back at once, especially because Tyler was barely changed when he bit you.' I grunt and for the shortest of seconds her smile widens. "I know. But imagine if he would've been changed completely. You might not be this lucid this fast."

As she stands up I notice she's still wearing the same clothes as the night she helped hauling my sorry ass back to the boarding house. The night when I– I sit up abruptly and yank her back down on the bed. She's so close to me I can smell the faint trace of sweat on her. My nostrils flare; she smells divine.

But I refuse to let myself get distracted.

She yelps and tries to get away from me, feebly attempting to pry my fingers from around her wrists. But even if I'm weak for a vampire, I'm still strong in comparison to a human.

I brush her hair over her shoulder and I see the faint traces of two small puncture wounds on her neck.

I look at her, disgusted with myself.

"I bit you, I…." There is no way I can face her condemning eyes, so I stare in disbelief at the bite marks that I've forcefully given her.

Elena shakes her head, covering her neck with her hair.

"You were delirious. You thought I was Katherine, its ok."

I find myself staring at her in horror. Not only have I killed her brother, turned her mother. I've force fed her my blood twice and attacked her friends. Now I've forced myself upon her, _taken_ blood from her, and all she can say is it's ok?

She can obviously see it in my eyes, because she takes my face in her palms and looks me in the eye.

"Damon, don't do this to yourself. You saved Caroline from Tyler; I'm always going to be grateful. You didn't do it for anyone else but _her_, it was an unselfish act and whatever you did that night, wasn't you. And you stopped when you realized it was me. Promise me, you won't blame yourself for that."

Her eyes burn like fire and my mouth feels dry. I can't speak so I nod. She keeps my head in a firm grip for a few seconds longer until she is convinced I'm not going to off myself or something equally stupid.

Now, I'm not Stefan. I'm not going to wallow in pity for the rest of eternity, but hurting Elena, needs to stop.

_**Elena's POV Day Five**_

He seems to be getting stronger now, I can feel it. And his sarcasm is slowly coming back. But his eyes are empty and even if I'm telling him not to blame himself, I know that Stefan being gone is constantly on his mind.

I know, because I've been there myself, with my parents' death. And Aunt Jenna. But, Stefan's still alive. We just need to find him. I'm trying to tell Damon this, but it's not that easy, when I'm not absolutely convinced myself.

Right now I need to stay strong for Damon. Stefan is my boyfriend, yes. But he is Damon's brother. No matter how much they claim that they hate each other, the amount of times they've stood up for each other, saved one another; the love they have, the bond they share is so much stronger than any I've ever seen.

There is so much I wish I could tell Damon.

Klaus killed me and then I was brought back to life. As I died, there wasn't anyone owning the boarding house. That's the reason Katherine could enter without being invited.

But it also meant that Damon's compulsion on me wore off when I died. I remember all of it. On the night after Damon and Stefan rescued me from Rose and Elijah, the same night Damon returned my necklace back.

I remember it as clearly as if it was yesterday.

The look on his face as he told me he doesn't deserve me, but that Stefan does. Looking at him now, I don't understand why he couldn't deserve love himself. Damon would never admit this to anyone, but he cares and he would die for the ones that he loves. I don't understand why I never saw that before. Maybe I was too wrapped up in my own feelings, I don't know– but I see it now. The love Damon carries for me and for Stefan, and how much it hurts him when we hurt.

I wish I could make him understand that he would've done the same for Stefan, had it been the other way around. They have both sacrificed so much.

And I care for them both.

I go to Stefan's room for a much needed shower. I haven't changed clothes in days, and I feel like crap. I must smell like crap too. I don't like leaving him alone. I shiver as I remember Stefan leaving his ring, to go out and meet the sun. I don't think Damon is like his brother in that sense, but I'm not taking any risks.

I don't wish to acknowledge the feeling that I know is roaring to slip out of me; the feeling of utter and complete love for them both. I want to cry and fight and claw this feeling out of my body. It isn't right – not to Stefan, not to Damon. Not to me.

I'm crying in the shower, shaking from pain and sadness. It's not fair. Life isn't fair. And I have to stay strong and confident. I know that Damon's been the one holding me up before everything happened. He's never let me slip and break down. He's pushed me and fought for me and I get it. I understand that now.

So I'm here for him, trying to not let him slip or break down. I'm pushing him and fighting for him and I hope he gets it too.

But I just need this time to feel useless and let the pain rain down on me, and I'm grateful that he's still too weak to hear me when I'm like this.

I dry myself off and splash my face with cold water in the sink to get rid of the trace of tears. It's scary how perceptive Damon is sometimes. I get dressed and head down to the cellar to pick up some fresh blood for Damon and then to the kitchen to sort a snack out for myself.

I bring it all up on a tray for us. I get nervous if I leave him alone for too long. He's not strong enough and I'm not sure how much of Klaus's blood he can take. There's not much left anyway, but it should be enough for another day. Damon keeps telling me to just give it to him in one go, but I don't trust Klaus. I bet there would be some side effect. So I'm just giving him one spoonful a day, and he hates it.

I smile as I open the door to his room. And stop to see the bed empty.

Looking around, I put the tray on the table beside the bed. That's when I hear the shower and see the steam rising out from it. Before I manage to leave the room Damon steps out of the shower and reaches for a towel. I avert my eyes, but not before I've seen the water running along his muscles playing under his skin as he wraps the towel around his slim waist.

"Elena," he drawls without looking up. "See anything you like?"

The heat from the blush flushes my neck and I rush back to the small oak table next to the bed where I put the tray. I guess the old Damon is back. As I turn I can sense smugness in the air. It's not fair, the way he affects me. Especially in knowing that my boyfriend, _boyfriend_, is out there somewhere– A loud crash ends my line of thinking and within seconds I've forgotten that Damon is in there half naked. As I reach the bathroom, there is Damon on the floor, his eyes closed.

"My god", I exclaim and I fall to the floor next to him. I realize I don't even know how to tell if he's still– well undead, since he has no pulse and no heartbeat. He's not even breathing for crying out loud. I really don't know what to do. I try to lift him up, but his slick body is too heavy for me. So I settle for getting him a pillow and a throw from the arm chair. Then I sit and wait, thinking that, if he hasn't moved in fifteen, I'll call Ric. He might know what to do.

I frown and lean against the bathroom wall. I shouldn't have left him alone. He might be well enough for banter and sarcasm, but he's obviously weaker than I thought. I'm so used to Damon being strong and secure– that this situation I'm in with him is confusing and quite unreal– it's scaring me.

I don't know how long I've been sitting next to him, except for the fact that my bum is numb from sitting on the tiled floor of Damon's bathroom, but suddenly he moans quietly.

I sit up straight.

"Damon, can you hear me?" I hear my voice shaking a little as I bend over him. Finally he opens his eyes.

"Katherine?" he moans, his pupils contracted and a sort of goofy smile on his lips. I can't say I'm amused, but I try not to show it.

"No, it's me, Elena," I answer and then recoil a little as his hands reach for my face. I force myself to sit completely still when he finally cups my cheeks and stares into my eyes.

"Elena," he mumbles, like he's trying my name on for size. Suddenly, he blurs past me, straight into the door frame and I fall back in shock from his sudden move. He tries to get his bearings and he stumbles into his bedroom, holding his head in his hands.

"Fuck, that hurts." He moans and sits down on the bed. I move in on him slowly, not really sure what to say. Is he delirious still? I mean, I trust him, I do. But getting bit by him isn't really something I'd like to go through any time soon. It hurt like hell, not only because he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing, but because Klaus already had taken a nibble or two from the exact same spot only hours earlier.

I sit down next to him, with my hands wedged under my thighs as a precaution not to touch him again. But my heart hurts, he looks so fragile and I can't help thinking that this is the real Damon that no one else gets to see but me. And I only get to see this side of him because he nearly died a few days ago.

In death is when our true feelings emerge. Now, we're alive (at least in theory) and we're back to pretending that whatever _this_ is– this _thing_, doesn't exist. I sigh and he looks at me.

"Hey," he says softly, "I think I kinda…" He hesitates and a look of disdain flashes over his face. "I fainted," he grumbles.

I smile at him, and it's a huge grin. It's of relief, I know it. But Damon doesn't and he glares at me, so I quickly stand up and walk over to the tray with lunch I've made.

"I could get you some new blood, if you want to." I look over at him but he shakes his head, a bit unsteady.

'No, just give me the damn thing.'

He takes the bag and gulps it down, at once the color shifts on his features and he looks a bit more, to put it mildly– alive. I grab my sandwich and sit down on the edge of the bed as he lowers himself under the sheets again. He chucks the towel on the floor and I'm trying my best not imagining the fact that he's stark naked under those sheets, and that I can see the outline of his you-know-what against the white cotton.

I look up at Damon, and I know that he knows. But for the first time he doesn't say anything. No snarky remark. We just sit there looking at each other, until it stops being uncomfortable.

_**Damon's POV Day Ten**_

I'm still trying not to acknowledge the dizzy spells, I'm acting all gung-ho, but Elena's not falling for it. She treats me like I'm a fucking kid, and it pisses me off.

I'm a lot better than I was a few days ago. I know, because my body is definitely giving off the right signals. Especially when Elena walks in the room in her little shorts and tiny vest tops. Jesus, you could bounce a ball off her ass, if she'd let you. Which I highly doubt she would.

I watch her as she's walking across the floor of the library with a tray filled with dinner. A plate for her, and a cup of heated blood for me. I'm not a sissy or anything, and I do believe in equality and all that shit, but trust me when I say, there is nothing better than seeing Elena tend to me. I don't know why. But there's a buzzing feeling in the back of my neck every time I see her like this. Nursing me back to health. Not that I really need it, but, you know, it's cushy.

The first few days after my, let's just call it, slip in the shower, she even refused to go back to school. Eventually I had to call in the troops (little boy wonder and his wand wielding witch) and I thought Elena was going to kick them out for trespassing.

To be honest, I mostly sleep all day anyways. This near death bullshit has done nothing for my human traits. I want to suck on anything that moves and I want to sleep as long as the sun is up. To top it off, as if my life isn't fucked up enough, my face keeps changing at random. First time it happened it really freaked Elena out. She kept ranting that she trusts me, but please do not bite me and whatnot– as if.

But eventually, as it kept on happening, she seemed to relax around it. Now, she doesn't even flinch. Really? How annoying is that? I'm supposed to be this bad ass vampire, and she's just sitting there staring at my vamped out face as if nothing is wrong. Does nothing for a man's confidence, I tell you that.

We're sitting on the floor in front of the lit fireplace, eating our dinner and playing snap. I'm not sure if Elena really gets how slow I have to be to let her win. I sometimes find it amusing trying to figure out how to just act like a normal human. It's our third game and I can't help it.

"Snap." My hand covers hers in just under a second, she flinches and tries to pull away, but I can't let her. Her hand is so warm and it feels perfect under mine. And I know that I shouldn't. I've promised myself, my feelings should be under wraps for all of eternity.

But she is looking up at me with this startled look and her perfect little mouth opens just a fraction. Without thinking I feel myself leaning in. I stop within a breath of her lips, but she doesn't move away. I'm trying really hard to decipher the emotions playing over her delicate features, but I can't. But I also can't back away.

_Fuck, fuck. Fuck._

I close my eyes and I feel her warm breath on mine. It's a chaste kiss; our lips are closed, but I can taste the wine she's had with her dinner. I pull back a little and search her eyes. My hand is squeezing hers, afraid that she will somehow disappear on me, or worse, reject me completely.

_**Elena's POV Day 10**_

Damon is holding my hand so hard it feels like it might break, but I don't really care. What I do care about is the fact that he kissed me. Damon Salvatore. Just. Kissed me.

Or rather, I just kissed him.

I usually don't swear, it's a bad habit. But holy freaking cow! What just happened?

I try to find my bearings, but it's not that easy when I'm drowning in his eyes. They are so blue and filled with honesty, my heart drops. I mean, what am I supposed to tell him? Am I supposed to slap him across the face?

I open my mouth to say something. _Anything_.

But I end up closing my eyes instead, and I lean in closer to him. A second later his lips are on top of mine and I open my mouth and feel his tongue slip between my lips and my heart is beating crazy fast and my mind is swirling. He tastes so good.

I let my free hand slide around his neck and he moans. Or I moan. I don't know.

His hand is still covering mine, but he's let go a bit and we're slowly entwining our fingers. His other hand is nestling my hair, pulling me closer and my stomach is doing somersaults. I can't breathe. This is too intense. But I'm on top of him, he's lying on the floor and our bodies are pressing against each other.

His hands are stroking my arms and my back, slowly trailing their way down towards my behind. He rests his hands against the small of my back and I'm aching for him to slide them further down. I've wanted him to touch me for such a long time and now that it's happening, it feels like my skin is ablaze– I need to stop this because it's madness. But I can't because it's so amazing.

I need to stop because no matter how we started this, I'm his brother's girlfriend.

I'm Stefan's _girlfriend_.

Suddenly I push away from him and I'm pushing hard. At first he won't let go, but when I tell him no, he stops and we sit up, panting. I try to straighten out my hair and I can't look at him.

I don't understand how this could happen. I know we've been under a lot of stress, but this– this is wrong. I turn to him, but I realize I really don't know what to tell him. Before I get the chance to, he stops me.

"Don't, Elena. I'm just gonna walk out of here. And tomorrow we're gonna pretend this never happened."

Damon slowly stands up and is careful to avoid me.

"Just like with everything else", I hear him mumble as he stalks out of the library, leaving me staring into the fire.

_This has never happened._

**_The End_**

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><p><strong>I would like to give humongous thanks to my wonderful friends and betas LavenderLou and aj81writing for helping me out with this story. I've never written a prompt before, so I wanted, no, needed, the best help I could get. You are such wonderful girls, and I love you with all my heart. What would I have done without you, and would you ever consider being my betas again...? (Pretty please with Damon on top!)<strong>

**Remember reviews equals love.  
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